Archive for the 'Other Craft' Category
I didn’t pledge handmade this (past) Christmas, but as it turned out, many of our gifts were handmade anyway. First there were these, next up were a couple of bags for some more small friends of ours. This one:
using that ubiquitous mushroom fabric, was for a five year old boy, and was given as a Library bag, complete with new book inside. The other:
I made for his sister, who is three months younger than Niamh. The bunny pattern came from here; the bags I made up as I went along. I was quite pleased with these, and I think the recipients were happy too 
Next came a wild burst of kitchen activity (mostly by Dermot, I do admit), and some playing with my new toy for labelling and packaging, to create the fabulous boxes of goodies for our families:
(Inside: Orange cordial, Spiced nuts, Mexican drinking chocolate, Dried Mango, Cranberry & Pistachio biscotti, Orange spiced tea blend - all handmade; and a teatowel - which we did not make ourselves!)
Finally, at the eleventh hour (the night before Christmas Eve), I managed to squeeze in some homemade goodness for my own kiddos. I finished up the stitching of ElfGirl and ElfBoy, and made them up into a couple of simple drawstring bags. In hopes of starting off a new Christmas tradition (which I kept hearing about on various blogs), these held brand new PJs for Christmas Eve. Here they are under the tree:
Oh, and lest I forget, somewhere in there, I also managed to whip up Finn’s party cake:
I made up a packet teacake for this, as everyone knows kids only eat the (hideously sugary buttercream) icing and leave the rest. For his actual birthday, I made a more grown up cake - a rich, moist, dark chocolate cake covered in ganache and silver cachous… but forgot to take a photo, d’oh!
Next up, post-Christmas crafting
January 12 2008 | Family and Other Craft and Sewing | 12 Comments »
‘Tis late. We’re not long back from ‘doing’ the Myer windows and the Boulevard lights - two Melbourne Christmas institutions if ever there were. With a stop off at Haigh’s on the way. Yum. Two happy but tired kids fell asleep on the way home. I thought I’d show you a couple of recent finished objects before I do the same.
This cushion:
which is a long awaited finish (remember the work in progress?) from Finn. He finished it in time to show his teacher last week at his (sob! sniff!) last Kinder session.
The proud boy (since having a new camera - early gift from Mum, thanks Mum - necessitated taking new playground shots of kids):
And a finish from me, which I probably shouldn’t really be showing off yet, since it’s still en route to the recipient:
This was for an ornament exchange on the Aus Xers yahoo group. I joined up before I realised what a slump in stitching I was about to experience. Blah. So I have to confess… I probably broke the rules a little bit. This stitched piece (a Drawn Thread freebie) was sitting in my ‘to be finished’ pile already(!) When I realised I had zero chance of getting something new stitched for the exchange, I picked this out and finished it up as a pillow ornament. Is that bad? Anyway, I’m not counting it as a finish for the year, but I do plan to restitch it for myself, because I think it’s really pretty. If I manage to kick myself in the butt after Christmas is over, I might just get it done before ‘08!
December 18 2007 | Counted Stitchwork and Finished and General Ramblings and Kid Crafts and Other Craft and Sewing | 4 Comments »
So. While I was out…
It turned out that No-vember meant not only (almost)No-blogging, but also (almost)No-stitching. Not a single cross was stitched with these hands in November (shock!), but I did get to and finish the girl-elf I showed you back here, and made a good start on boy-elf. Pics when they’re both finished.
Also, I did some crafty gift making for a couple of the small people in my life. I don’t think either of their mums read my blog, so I can show:
First up, I made a kitty version of Sara Bear, who will go to sweet Lilly. I hope she likes her. Finn has named her ‘Heart Love Kitty’ on account of the hearts in her shoes (uh… which you cannot see… so I guess that makes little sense to mention!)
(Pattern by Hillary Lang)
Next up, a crayon roll for Mr A, Dermot’s nephew. This was fun. I made two - the other one for Finn and Niamh, and it had mysteriously vanished by the time I came to take these pics.
(Based on the tutorial at Skip to my Lou, via Sew, Mama, Sew).
Finally, I whipped up a last minute (11pm, November 30) advent calendar-ish thing to round out the month. We’re also doing the Lego advent calendar this year, because we just looooove Lego around here (except notsomuch when coming across it with bare feet in the dark.) The one I made is simple little felt bags of chocolate goodies, tied with a pretty ornament which goes on the tree (or will, at least). Ornaments from Allsorts.
Oh oh, looks like there’s an imminent break-in!
Hope you’re all having a great weekend 
December 08 2007 | General Ramblings and Kid Crafts and Other Craft and Sewing | 5 Comments »
Sunday morning cuppa. (Milo, for the curious. Best with honey.)
Mmmm… Donut.
Fooled? No? Look closer:
Niamh followed her own tradition of absconding with the crafty goodness:
Don’t worry, I saved her before she managed to stick the needle in her mouth
PS. Should you feel the need to make your own delicious pincushion/kiddie playfood - mine is based on the Craftster tutorial found here. Enjoy!
November 05 2007 | Kid Crafts and Other Craft and Sewing | 4 Comments »
Until a few days ago, we had in our house this scary looking thing:
(I refer to the one on the right, not either of the others, though the one in the middle scares me a little too!)
That weird koala-headed thing is a doll stroller from years back - best guess is it belonged to my sister. The frame is still in good shape, however the cover has never fitted well, and, though I don’t think you can make it out clearly here, has been held together with string, rubber-bands, a nappy-pin and a big wad of blutac. When Finn started trundling his teddies around in it a couple of years back, I promised I would try and make a new cover. So… now you see how bad my procrastination can really be! 
When Niamh started getting interested in Baby Jack (Scary Doll), I idly thought of buying a new stroller. A quick trip through Toy Kingdom assured me that I could have a new dolly pusher, as long as I wanted it in, lets see… pink, pink, or, oh yes… PINK! Anyway, I bit the bullet and decided it couldn’t possibly be that difficult to sew a new cover, after all. Oh yes, and some bright spark decided it might be fun to have a reversible cover, what’s more. (That would be me. D’oh.)
Some time and many curse words later, after staying up until midnight on Monday finishing the thing… and then finishing it some more on Tuesday while Niamh was napping… aaaand then finally finishing it some more after picking Finn up from pre-school, we have one super-dooper swanky new cover (and one cute boy who isn’t too cool to be photographed with his teddybear):
(yes, I know. It’s pink. Oh well.)
But wait, that’s not all:
Ta da! It’s also green and blue. Hooray! (See - I’m not really anti-pink, I’m just pro-choice 
)
I tried to convince Niamh to take it for a test drive, but she decided to go with a mechanical inspection instead. That’s my girl!
October 19 2007 | Family and Other Craft and Sewing and The Kids | 7 Comments »
The examination of a freesia she picked moments earlier from our front lawn. (Yes, lawn - they’ve gone wild, can’t get rid of them… thinking of just strewing more seed around so that it looks purposeful!)
This is my favourite of the bibs I’ve made for Niamh - the Spotlight lady astutely observed ‘you must be a green person’. Well, yes, yes I am. I love this little apple print, I should go back and buy more for a summer dress. There was rotary cutting and piecing involved with this bib… d’you think I’m getting ever more closer to that ‘quilt within’?
Before I made the sewing machine give up its place at the kitchen table (having no permanent sewing spot is a bit of a bummer), I made a half dozen more bibs - a couple for a friend of ours and more for Niamh. She came out yesterday morning to discover the pile, and was most distraught when she couldn’t wear one immediately - I hadn’t hammered in the press studs the night previously for fear of waking the kids. Life couldn’t continue until I banged in a press stud and popped it on her - I think we had six changes of bib yesterday, the little fashion fiend!
October 03 2007 | Family and Other Craft and Sewing and The Kids | 5 Comments »
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